4 Ways to Start a Morning Routine

Mornings are usually a toss up for people. Either they love them or they hate them. For me, mornings are my least favorite time of day. I have the worst relationship with them. Getting out of bed for me is the worst feeling of the day. To put it lightly I really have to put an effort forward to start my day off on a good note. Whether you have the same relationship with mornings as I do or you are a lover of mornings it can be a huge help to have a morning routine.

Bringing a morning routine into my life significantly changed mornings for me. I still don’t look forward to getting out of bed and waking up, but it is easier to get my day started on a positive note, which can affect the rest of my day. One thing it is important to incorporate into your morning routine is time just for you. Throughout the year the Peer Educators program on self-love and taking care of your body. An important aspect of this is to take time out of your day to be in tune with your feelings and emotions. Being self-aware can help to make you a healthier person overall because it helps you to know what your body needs (whether that is sleep, exercise, or to talk to someone about something going on in your life). For me the morning is a time when I can fit in all the things that I wish I could do the rest of the day but end up never having time for. Here are a few things that can easily be worked into your morning routine to start your day off on a positive and healthy note.

1. Gratitude: Gratitude has been used for years by counselors and therapists to help people handle depression, anxiety, and even just daily stressors that come with college life. Thinking of things you are grateful for in your life can help you see the world in whole different light. The benefits of gratitude have effects in all different aspects of your life: socially you have more empathy making you kinder, emotionally you are more relaxed and confident in your life, and personality wise you are more optimistic. For me working gratitude into a morning routine means thinking of a certain person that I am grateful to have in my life and letting them know at some point that I appreciate what they do for me. Others work gratitude in by writing 3-5 things each morning they appreciate about their lives or themselves.

1. Journaling: Journaling gives you a chance to reflect and process things you are feeling or things that are stuck on your mind. By writing things down it is a form of releasing the things from your head. It is also a good way to think things out, things can get jumbled and confused in your head, but seeing them written on paper can sometimes make us realize the simple solution to the problem we are facing. Journaling also gives you time to reflect on who you are which gives you a chance to evaluate how you are doing on goals you want to achieve. Each morning taking just 10 minutes to write out a few things on your mind or about something specific can be enough o set your mind at ease for that day and allow you to reflect on yourself.

1. Yoga/stretching/some form of exercise: When you wake up in the morning sometimes it can be hard to get moving and on the go right away, for me doing just a few stretches can help me wake up slowly and peacefully. The morning is a great time to work in a little bit of exercise. Exercise has so many health benefits that you know about but also some that you might not know about. Exercise is one of the most recommended stress relievers especially to college students who are living in a high stress environment. Exercise is an important aspect of keeping a balanced life in college.

1. Take your time: Every day we are always moving at the fastest pace possible. Waking up slowly and giving yourself time to be aware of what’s going on with you is so important. Always being in a rush is part of our society and the life we live but if you can take a few minutes a day to unplug and listen to your own thoughts and tune into yourself, your body will thank you. It is easy to rush through life and ignore what our bodies are telling us they need, but it is important to remember we can’t accomplish anything in life if our body isn’t healthy and happy.

It might seem like a lot to do in the mornings to get up in time to incorporate a morning routine, but as I told you before I HATE mornings and it has honestly been worth it to lose 15 minutes of extra sleep in order to incorporate my morning routine. I hope you find it useful and beneficial to incorporate a morning routine into your life as well!

— Alex 🙂